Gradimir Smudja was born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia in 1954. He left his home country in 1982 because he wasn't happy with the regime of the time. He worked at a gallery in Switzerland for a while, before moving to Italy, where he produced his 'Vincent & Van Gogh' comic album, that was published by Delcourt in 2003. In this homage to the famous Dutch painter, Smudja showed a great talent for imitating Van Gogh's style. A second book was published in 2010.